Test establishments using cinetheodolites can gather hundreds of thousands of feet of cinetheodolite film yearly in support of, for example, flight testing programs. In a typical test run, five two-man cinetheodolites may be used to track targets varying from hovering helicopters to rockets travelling at Mach 3. The quality of the information collected is wholly dependent on the tracking skills of the cinetheodolite operators. In the worst case, poor tracking at even one site can result in the loss of all data from a test run. It is therefore apparent that the training of new operators and the maintenance of skills in experienced operators is a high priority.
At present, operator training is carried out by either scheduling test runs exclusively for cinetheodolite tracking training or by laying on extra cinetheodolite sites during actual test runs. Both of these approaches have their drawbacks.
Training runs carried out exclusively for training purposes are costly in terms of aircraft operation, expendable equipment (e.g. rockets) and film development. Additionally, since these training runs must be scheduled days in advance, they cannot be arranged on short notice to fill in for cancelled test runs. Furthermore, the development time for the film is one or two days, a significant delay in providing feedback to an operator, thus considerably reducing the value of the training run.
The use of extra sites for training during actual tests does appear more cost effective, but is subject to certain other disadvantages. For example, the simultaneous manning of the information acquisition sites and provision of experienced operators to assist at training sites is not always possible. In many cases, operators function in pairs that can only be split up at the risk of decreasing the total effectiveness of information collection. This procedure is also subject to the deficiencies of excessive feedback delay. Additionally, most actual test runs cannot effectively be used to provide experienced opertors with refresher training.
The need for a simulator is therefore apparent. The aim of the present invention is to provide an appropriate simulator that is relatively inexpensive and easy to operate.